schedule and lifestyle. I wonder how she feels about that decision these days.”
Meals are brought out. A cut of beef sits atop roast potatoes with some sort of Italian tomato sauce and asparagus. Beck and I have to stop holding hands in order to eat, but I don’t think the woman beside him stops talking long enough to actually get any food in her mouth. Her loss—the meal is spectacular. Beck shoots me a few quick smiles throughout all of this and that’s all I get. I try not to let it bother me. It’s another sink or swim situation and I have every intention of surviving and standing on my own.
“How long have you been working for them?” I ask.
Penny swallows her food, washing it down with a sip of red wine. “Going on a decade now.”
“And you’re from Denver?”
She nods. “Born and bred. It might be a big city, but it’s still a small town at heart. I can’t imagine living anywhere else. Have you had a chance to see much?”
“Only Larimer Square so far.”
“Get Beck to take you up into the mountains. That’s where the real beauty is.”
“I’ll do that.”
Catherine gives me the occasional cool look, but I can deal with that. Given I am neither spilling my food nor dancing on the table, she really has nothing to complain about. Ethan ignores my existence entirely. Making it even odder that his date does not. Due to politics or politeness, I don’t know.
“I’m just going to ask because that’s how we find things out,” says Penny. “Did Beck actually pick you up in a dive bar where he was working as a busboy?”
“Ah…”
“Because that’s what Ethan told me and honestly I’m still having a problem picturing it.”
“You and Ethan are close?” I ask because having no idea what Beck does and doesn’t want known means a diversion is required. I’m not ashamed and neither do I want to lie. But he does business with these people. I’m not particularly gifted at manipulation or subterfuge. Games of strategy are lost on me. Avoidance, however, I can do. After all, I’ve been avoiding both the questions and hands of idiots with varying blood alcohol levels in bars for years.
“We work together and we’re friends. We’re not an item though. I’m not foolish enough to attempt dating an Elliot.” Then she realizes what she’s said, and raises a manicured hand, the fingernails a perfect match for her dress. “Not that that’s any reflection on you, of course. If the busboy story is true, then you didn’t know the hornet’s nest you were stumbling into. One might even say he won you over under false pretenses.”
I take my time, thinking things through. That the story of Beck and my courtship is being discussed around town leaves a sour taste in my mouth. However, there’s not a damn thing I can do about it. And what could I say here, really? I almost failed math, but my new boyfriend’s a billionaire? I’m a waitress and underachiever by choice and trade? Beck is dating down in the eyes of many. I understand. That I’d kick his ass and be out of here on the next plane if he didn’t treat me right regardless of any perceived inadequacies is between me and him. All of this is just further proof that making conversation sucks and people are the worst. Time to drink.
Penny swirls the wine in her glass. “You have the discretion part down. They should give you points for that at least.”
And I keep right on saying nothing because apparently it’s working well for me.
“I’m going to take your silence for assent,” she finally declares. “Beck was always the black sheep of the family, but that’s something else. Good for him getting out and doing his own thing. Even if it was only for a short while.”
As tempted as I am to kick him beneath the table and have him intercede, I don’t. When it comes to him, curiosity wins out as always. What’s the harm in letting the lady talk?
“Of course, Jack pushed him too far. He never thought Beck would actually up and leave. None of them did. When the apron strings are lines of credit the pressure to obey the family and company can be extreme.” Gaze thoughtful, she stops talking to eat for a minute. “But now Catherine and Ethan are busily gathering their forces to show the board and the world a strong united front. And your boyfriend